It should be made illegal for the most prominent price of gas on a filling station's sign to be a promotional price. It is purposefully deceptive and anti-consumer.

It's happened to everyone: you see a great price on gas on the sign by the street, you pull in and realize that price you thought you were paying only applies if you also buy a car wash. You feel tricked! Swindled! Bamboozled, even!

You take a peak at the sign again...and sure enough...in tiny, light-colored lettering you notice the qualifier.

Now sure, maybe you should have read the sign a little closer...this isn't a new practice after all. That may be true, but I say gas stations shouldn't be trying to trick you in the first place!

I propose a law that mandates the most visible and prominent price displayed on price boards outside of gas stations be the regular sale price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline.

I think adding the promotional price is good marketing, and maybe I do want a car wash and that will help me make my decision, but the visibility of the promotional price should be equal to or less than the visibility of the regular price from the street.

Anything other than that is anti-consumer and should be disallowed.